


WoodsWeary

by VampiricFaith



Category: Lamento -BEYOND THE VOID-
Genre: Canon Gay Relationship, Falling In Love, M/M, Rain, Rhapsody to the Past, m/m - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-14
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2018-03-01 10:15:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2769323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampiricFaith/pseuds/VampiricFaith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shui had ventured into a part of the woods he’d never been in before, and now he couldn’t forget it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	WoodsWeary

**Author's Note:**

> Shui x Leaks story. ♥ I had a good time writing it and I sincerely hope you enjoy it. This takes place between tracks 8 and 9 of Rhapsody to the Past.

Shui had climbed into bed over an hour ago, but despite fatigue and the soothing warmth the blankets offered, he couldn't find himself drifting away.

His wife held him, pressed into his back. Her face buried into his carrot hair, snuffing calm, deep breath down his scalp. It tickled like hundreds of miniature fingers. Her body formed against his back, soft breasts pressing against his bare flesh, but Shui felt no titillation. It was not from familiarity, either; it was true that it could make the heart complacent in some men, but it couldn't be the case in a relationship that was largely a sham to begin with.

She wasn't unpleasant, no- but simply wrong in the most basic sense of things. She wasn't attractive, not in that sense, though perhaps she had been in the past. He wasn't sure anymore.

Shui moved. He sat up in bed, and looked down at her, his wife, and frowned; she wasn't on his mind, and she rarely was when she should have been, not ever since he'd met that man. Their arrangement was never about love, nor even romance. He didn't know this consciously but if he thought on it, if he were to be honest with himself, it was the truth. It was sorrowful, all the same, in his heart of hearts.

“Shui?” One of her eyes opened and she yawned. One hand pawed at his thigh, a lazy, sleepy half-slap. “Shui, you're letting the cold air in.” Indeed, his movements had lifted the blankets and allowed the outside to waft in against her nude skin. “Come back to bed, okay?”

Instead, he slid out, and tucked the blankets in up to her. His tail swished back and forth as he rummaged through a the drawers near their bed, picking out some warm pants, a tunic, and something to tie his hair back with. “Go to sleep,” His tongue was soft and level, but could not belie the obsession building within.

“Don't do anything silly,” She rolled over in bed, pulling the blankets tight about her form, and she gave a yawn; then she was fully asleep again.

Shui was relieved. He wasn't going to heed that advice, not by any means, but at least she wouldn't be awake to see it. On came his mantle, and on came his shoes, and then, he was out the door.

It was raining that night. The gentle pitter-pat that flicked on the windows when he left home gave way to sheets of full-force pissing rain. The well-worn path out of town likewise gave way to thick, disgusting mud, that got even worse as Shui ventured off it. Murk stuck like paste to his feet, and in spots, threatened to tug off his boots, but he kept on with a steady pace, with the only goal in mind to reach that location he'd discovered by sheer accident days before.

He'd never been in that part of the woods before then. It was only meant to be a short trip off the path, to explore and get his mind off of things while he looked for his herbs. But the ground he transversed seemed known to him, even if it was true he'd never touched it before. Loamy soil gave way under his feet then, and he watched his feet as he went, and he found himself before a man he'd never seen before. His name was Leaks.

Leaks had helped him, though tersely, and brought Shui to his magical home, magical in the literal sense of the word. But, the wonders within couldn't compare to the enigma that Leaks himself was.

The cold air clutched Shui's chest. His clothes were plastered to him, making his fur mat in places. Strands of red hair stuck to his face and hung down, saturated. He'd just come to look, he thought- just to see if maybe that strange person he'd seen before through a glance in the window was still there.

Knock, knock. Knock knock. Yes, that was his hand. He didn't know the time, and he didn't know what he was doing as he rapped on the door.

A clatter came from inside, followed by the metallic scraping of opening locks. The door flung open, and filling the frame was the man from before, Leaks. Blonde, sharp, clad in leather, he dominated his home. His lips pursed once before pulling back, showing wild fangs. The irritated hiss that accompanied would have frightened most men, or perhaps issued a challenge, but Shui didn't even hear it.

Shui's heart was thumping much too loudly, deafening his ears.

“Didn't I tell you to stop coming here?” Leaks asked, but the tone was less of anger and more of resignation. “I told you to leave again just this afternoon.” Leaks's ears, those black-furred ears, were placed back; the fur that so many others found ugly, Shui found beautiful, and his fingers itched to touch them.

Shui's reply was honest, but he knew it made him sound a fool. “I did. I came back.”

The other man's eyes widened, and his tail snapped up in resounding agitation. “Are you an idiot?” he asked. “You're going to get killed if you keep coming.”

“Maybe,” Shui laughed as he said it, and brushed back some of his hair, though the motion was useless with how hard the rain still fell. “Do you mind if I come inside?”

The storm was worsening. All other sounds drowned out as a particularly hard burst of water poured down onto them.

“Yes.” The single word came out with force. “Why do you keep coming back? Are you here to mock me? Study me? Pick apart what makes a cursed thing tick?”

Shui didn't say anything more in response right away. His eyes met the blonde man's, and he smiled. “Leaks?” He laughed. “May I come inside? It's cold out.”

There was an awkward hesitation again, but the door opened wider. Leaks did not let Shui in, though. Instead, he stepped out himself, into the rain, and shut the door. “You're not coming in my house again,” he said. “Understand?”

“Yes, I understand,” Shui replied. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”

“What in the world is there to talk about? It's nearly four in the morning and it's storming out.” As if to punctuate Leaks's words, a bolt of lightning cracked overhead.

Shui took a deep breath. He didn't know what had lead him to that part of the woods that day they met, but he knew it mattered. Something import brought them together, and it made his heart flutter. It, more than anything, made that sanga want to sing. “Everything, Leaks. We could talk about everything.” Seeing the annoyance forming on Leaks's face, Shui was quick to add, “Or nothing at all. I can be silent. I don't wish to annoy you.

“But I would be pleased if you'd let me sing for you.”

Leaks gave up. With an exaggerated sigh, he rolled his head back, and faced the raining sky. He turned, and opened the door to his home, and took a step in. “Take off your coat and get by the fire. If you ended up getting sick from wetting yourself down, I'd worry, you know.”

Shui hustled in, not even attempting to hide his grin. Off came everything, save his thin long underpants, and he settled by the crackling fire. Shui followed suit, and went to work licking down the fur of his arm, fixing the damage the rain had caused.

There they sat by the fire, drying off, warming up, and Shui looked over him. They were half naked, alone, in that house that held so much mysticism- but to Shui, not for the reasons expected. He looked over the other, bathing himself, and his heart beat faster. More than anything, this inspired his voice, but he was breathless.

“What?” Leaks sounded annoyed, but his tail was crooked up into a friendly arch. However, his ears pressed flat. One brow lifted, and he studied Shui. There was a suspicion on what it could be, but no, it wasn't right. It couldn't be right.

Shui didn't answer. He forced a cough, clearing his throat, but then was silent again.

Leaks had, for a moment, made Shui forget how to sing.


End file.
